


Coffee is not my cup of tea

by easterlily16



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easterlily16/pseuds/easterlily16
Summary: Yuuri hates coffee, but loves the barista
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Victor Nikiforov
Kudos: 21





	Coffee is not my cup of tea

Yuuri is not picky, but if he has to admit the things he dislikes the most, it will be coffee.

…And his anxiety problem. And his difficulty in saying ‘No’. And making idle conversations. And the cruel, cold night in the middle of winter. And—okay, maybe Yuuri _is_ a little picky.

But _coffee_...coffee is like all of those things he dislikes combined because coffee is the thing most people drink in winter while gathering and making idle conversations and Yuuri is too anxious to refuse when someone offers it, and Yuuri _hates_ it. Yuuri does not like the taste of coffee to begin with. Its taste is far too bitter and strong for Yuuri’s liking, and adding sugar or milk or creamer does not help because even if the taste is less bitter and strong, the amount of caffeine and the effect it has on him are not.

But by some unexpected, miraculous turn, Yuuri has become a daily regular in a small coffee shop.

It was a week ago when Pichit somewhat forcefully dragged Yuuri to a coffee shop near their college. “’It’s been trending on instagram so I want to try going there at least once,” Pichit told Yuuri, urging him with an assurance that he could order anything other than coffee and a promise of treating him to a katsudon lunch set.

What Pichit did not tell him, however, were that it was a specialty coffee shop with all kinds of coffee in their menu but little of anything else.

…And that the shop attendant was a breathtakingly handsome, older man.

Of course Yuuri could still order a non coffee beverage, but when the man welcomed him (and Pichit, he reminded himself) with a charming smile and recommended the shop’s special roast (“Roast?” Yuuri thought) as a friendly gesture, Yuuri’s brain somehow stopped working and did not have enough time to reboot as he absent-mindedly agreed to whatever the man was offering. That day Yuuri left the shop with a pungent taste on his tongue and the sweet sight lingered in his mind. He came back to the shop the next day despite his better judgment. And the next day. And the next, next days after that.

The brass bell chimes as Yuuri enters the coffee shop, alerting the staff of a new costumer. Yuuri is greeted with the scent of roasted coffee beans, a friendly “Welcome,” and a servicing smile from the shop attendant, which immediately breaks into a heart-shaped grin upon noticing one of his regulars. “Hi, Yuuri,” greeted the shop attendant, who, Yuuri has come to know, is also the owner, the attending manager, the waiter, and the barista. “Come sit here. I’ve a bag of new beans coming in just today.”

Yuuri smiles back a shy, “Hello, Victor,” and takes a seat on the counter. “What is it this time?”

The shop attendant, Victor, took a glass jar of coffee beans from the shelf behind him and enthusiastically put it on the countertop in front of Yuuri. “Lo and behold! These are Gayo beans from Sumatra. It has a smooth, earthy taste and low acidity so it’s good for someone with a bad stomach. How about I make you a cup of cappuccino with these?”

Yuuri does not understand any of the words Victor used to describe them (“Smooth? Earthy?”). He did not even know the difference between espresso, latte, and cappuccino until yesterday when he finally asked Pichit, and truth to be told, he does not— _did_ not—quite care, but Yuuri knows Victor is a coffee enthusiast and that he is eager to try his hand on some of these new beans, so Yuuri nods. “Sure.”

Victor beams and comically yells a, “Coming right up,” as he turns to work on the drink.

If there are a few good things Yuuri has to admit about coffee, it will be the rich fragrance of a freshly brewed coffee and the amusing brewing process. Yuuri has come to the shop a few times and watched Victor a lot more times he now knows the basic steps of some of the brewing methods. However, watching the barista at work never tires him.

Yuuri notices there are tons of coffee brewing methods; each one has been explained in great detail by his beloved barista and yet none stays in his head. So, every time Victor asks him how he would like his coffee to be prepared, he would evade the question with an innocent smile and a playful, “Surprise me.”

Victor had seemed confused the first time, but the confusion was swiftly replaced with a seductive smile and a low chuckle. “I will do my best, dear Costumer.”

Victor chooses French press method this time. Yuuri watches as Victor takes some of the coffee beans, weighing them before grinding them up into a coarse, even grind and putting them into the press pot. Then he pours a little bit of hot water, stirs it gently until the grounded beans and the water mix evenly, adds more water, and leaves it to steep for four minutes (“It has to be exactly four minutes,” says Victor sharply as he sets the timer). When the timer goes off, he slowly pushes the plunger down the pot to filter the grounds from the coffee, and immediately pours it into a cup. He then proceeds to steam a small pitcher of cold milk with a steaming wand and pours the foamed milk into the cup of coffee in a steady, unbroken, circular motion. The result is a perfect cup of cappuccino, with the flower pattern on top, simple yet elegant and the aroma of the coffee strong, rich, and pleasant; it is truly an art form in itself, and it never ceases to amaze Yuuri.

Yuuri takes in the sight of the cup of coffee. It is beautiful, and it is a waste to damage its beauty, but is even more impolite to leave it untouched, so he carefully picks the cup in his hands, taking one last whiff of the scent, before bringing it to his lips and taking one slow sip.

BLERGH.

Yuuri screamed in his mind. It was bitter and sour and other tastes Yuuri could never quite comprehend no matter how many times he drinks it. Yuuri had seen other costumers drinking Victor’s coffee and judging by their content smile as they sipped on their coffee, Victor is unmistakably an amazing barista and this coffee must be of fine quality, made tenderly with care and passion of the skilled maker. It is possible that Yuuri just has not gotten used to the taste and MAYBE, now this is a big maybe, he will get an acquired taste for it once he picks up the habit of drinking it.

Yuuri has more than a few times imagined himself sitting back in Victor’s café in a classy suit, a pair of well-polished dress shoes, and slicked back hair, enjoying a cup of black coffee, freshly brewed by the beautiful, silver-haired barista, who was smiling gently at him and asking, “How was the coffee, Yuuri?” And Yuuri would answer as he took another sip off the cup in his hand…

BLERGH!

…

…

…okay, that did not go as he imagined.

Victor stood in front of Yuuri, head rested on his palms as he leaned forward with his eyes wide and his smile wider with anticipation. “Well,” he finally asked, “How was it?”

_At least one point of Yuuri’s imagination came true…_

Yuuri held back the discomfort in his tongue with a straight smile. “…It’s good.”

“You like it? Let me pour you another cup.”

“No, it’s—” Okay. He has not finished this cup yet, was what Yuuri about to say, but immediately halted when he saw Victor looking down in disappointment at his rejection. “—sssss nice of you. One more cup of the same coffee, please. Thank you.”

Victor beamed. “Yes, surely. My pleasure,” he said as he poured the hot beverage into Yuuri’s now empty cup. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks…” Yuuri mumbled, smiling not so-whole-heartedly, bracing himself for the expected bitterness that he has to endure yet again for next few sips. However, when he noticed Victor humming from between his heart-shaped smile and the smooth excitement in Victor’s movements, Yuuri thought that maybe, this bitterness is worth it, after all.


End file.
